For the past 2 decades, hartals or strikes where shops, all means of transport, schools etc. remain closed in protest, have become part and parcel of the Kashmiri life. A standstill in the hustle and bustle of Kashmir, meant to protest against one thing or the other.

And then of course prior to the hartal is the ‘call’ for hartal, by one of the many separatist organisations. Sometimes you don’t even know who has called for the hartal.

Kashmiris have been protesting.
Protesting for the past 2 decades.
… without results.

The only people who suffer through this
are the people who earn their living on day to day basis – the labourers, the shopkeepers, the transport providers, the children who miss out school. Everything stops, and suffers. Except for the ones who have brought upon us these sufferings.

I get irritated. But then, what else can the weak masses do to show their annoyance, their anger at the government extremities?

But the irony of it all… the haddtaal affects adversely nobody but the ones doing haddtaal… and since no one cares, nothing happens.